University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

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Alice M. Agogino

Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Chair in Mechanical Engineering

Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Product Design Concentration Founder and Head Advisor, MEng Program
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Blum Hall 200E
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
agogino@berkeley.edu
(510) 666-3704

For more information see: Best Lab
Current Classes Taught

Click here to view Professor Agogino’s biography, and here to view her CV.


Research Description:

Intelligent learning systems; information retrieval and data mining; multiobjective and strategic product design; nonlinear optimization; probabilistic modeling; intelligent control and manufacturing; sensor validation, fusion and diagnostics; wireless sensor networks; multimedia and computer-aided design; design databases; design theory and methods; MEMS Synthesis and CAD; artificial intelligence and decision and expert systems; gender equity.

 

Key Publications:

Click here for a list of Professor Agogino’s publications.

M. Reza Alam

American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering

6111 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
reza.alam@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-2591

For more information see: TAF Lab
Current Classes Taught

Born in Yazd, a small historic city at the geographic center of Iran, Reza received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Applied Mechanics from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He then joined the Mechanical Engineering program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 2005, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2008, and then served as a Postdoctoral associate (2008-2009) and Lecturer (2009-2011) at MIT. In July 2011 Reza joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, CA, as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering.


Research Description:

Theoretical Fluid Dynamics, Nonlinear Wave Mechanics, Ocean and Coastal Waves Phenomena, Ocean Renewable Energy (Wave, Tide and Offshore Wind Energy), Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Fluid Flow Control

 

Key Publications:

Publications in 2015

Jalali, M. A.; Khoshnood, A., and Alam, M.-R., “Microswimmer-Induced Chaotic Mixing“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), In Press, [PDF]

 

Zareei, A. and Alam M.-R., “Cloaking in Shallow Water Waves via Nonlinear Medium Transformation“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2015), Volume 778, pp. 273-287

 

Timmerberg, S, Börner, T., Shakeri, M., Ghorbani, R. and Alam M.-R., “The “Wave Bridge” For Bypassing Oceanic Wave Momentum“, Journal of Ocean Engineering and Marine Energy (2015), [PDF]

 

Couston, L. A., Mei, C. C., and  Alam, M.-R. “Landslide Tsunamis in Lakes“, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Volume 772 / June 2015, pp 784- 804. [PDF]

 

Nia, H. T., Jain, A. D., Liu, Y., Alam, M.-R., Barnas, R., and Makris N.C.,  “The evolution of air resonance power efficiency in the violin and its ancestors“ Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, A 471: 20140905. (2015). [PDF]

 

Börner, T., and  Alam, M.-R. “Real Time Hybrid Modeling for Ocean Wave Energy Converters“, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 43, pages 784–795, (2015).

 

Please visit the TAF Lab website for the previous years’ publications.

Francesco Borrelli

FANUC Chair in Mechanical Systems

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
FANUC Chair in Mechanical Systems

5133 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
fborrelli@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-3871

For more information see: MPC Lab
Current Classes Taught

Francesco Borrelli received the `Laurea’ degree in computer science engineering in 1998 from the University of Naples `Federico II’, Italy. In 2002 he received the PhD from the Automatic Control Laboratory at ETH-Zurich, Switzerland. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of California at Berkeley, USA. He is the author of more than one hundred publications in the field of predictive control. He is author of the book Constrained Optimal Control of Linear and Hybrid Systems published by Springer Verlag, the winner of the 2009 NSF CAREER Award and the winner of the 2012 IEEE Control System Technology Award. In 2016 he was elected IEEE fellow.

 

Since 2004 he has served as a consultant for major international corporations. He is the founder and CTO of BrightBox Technologies Inc, a company focused on cloud-computing optimization for autonomous systems. He is the co-director of the Hyundai Center of Excellence in Integrated Vehicle Safety Systems and Control at UC Berkeley.

 

His research interests include constrained optimal control, model predictive control and its application to advanced automotive control and energy efficient building operation.


Research Description:

Model Predictive Control, Distributed and Robust Constrained Control, Automotive Control Systems, Energy Efficient Building Control Systems

 

Van P. Carey

A. Richard Newton Chair in Engineering

Vice Chair of Instruction
A. Richard Newton Chair in Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6123 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
vpcarey@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-7177

For more information see: Energy and Multiphase Transport Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Professor Carey is widely recognized for his research on near-interface micro-scale phenomena, thermophysics and transport in liquid-vapor systems, and computational modeling and simulation of energy conversion and transport processes.  Since joining the Berkeley faculty in 1982, Professor Carey’s research has spanned a variety of applications areas, including fuel cells, solar power systems, building and vehicle air conditioning, forging and casting of aluminum, phase change thermal energy storage, Rankine cycle power for manned space missions, heat pipes for aerospace applications, high heat flux cooling of electronics, heat transfer in porous burners, data center energy efficiency, energy sustainability of information processing, and advanced solar absorber and turbomachinery technologies for Rankine cycle power generation.


Research Description:

Energy conversion and transport; molecular-level modeling of thermophysics and transport in multiphase systems; statistical thermodynamics; thermal management and energy efficiency of electronic information systems; boiling phenomena in pure fluids and binary mixtures; surface wetting effects in condensation processes; heat pipes; energy-based sustainability analysis of energy conversion systems; high temperature solar collector technologies; radial flow turbines and disk rotor drag turbine expanders for green energy conversion technologies; computer-aided design of energy systems.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Carey’s publications, please visit the Energy and Multiphase Transport Laboratory website.

James Casey

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6125 Etcheverry Hall, Mailstop 1740
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
jimcasey@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2863

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Continuum mechanics, plasticity, approximate nonlinear theories of elasticity, dynamics of nearly rigid bodies.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Casey’s publications, please click here.

Jyh-Yuan Chen

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6163 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
jychen@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3286

For more information see: Combustion Lab
Current Classes Taught

Professor J.-Y. Chen has near thirty years of experience on research of combustion processes after Ph.D. degree and two years of practical engineering with Boeing aircraft company. His research topics include air pollution, supersonic combustion, reduced reaction mechanisms, soot formation, flame extinction and re-ignition, applications of catalysts to combustion processes. Professor Chen earned his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University in 1985 with his thesis research on modeling of turbulent reacting flows. Since then, he has worked at Sandia National Laboratories Combustion Research Facility at Livermore as a senior scientist staff member for six years. During this period, he continued and expanded his numerical modeling work in many areas of turbulent reacting flows. This research included development of realistic chemical kinetics for Probability Density Function (PDF) methods, reduced reaction mechanisms, turbulent mixing models, and models for interactions between turbulence and chemical kinetics. These model developments have been applied to studies of combustion in supersonic flows, soot formation in turbulent flows, flame extinction and re-ignition, and NOx formation in turbulent flames. Many of these topics are related to gas turbine combustion. Professor Chen joined the faculty of Mechanical Engineering Department of University of California, Berkeley, in the Fall of 1991. His current research focuses on combustion-generated pollutants in laminar and turbulent flames, catalyst combustion, multi-component droplet combustion, homogeneous charge ignition and GDI engines, and large eddy simulations of turbulent flows, reduced chemistry for transportation fuels, and microwave assisted combustion. Professor Chen has coauthored one textbook of combustion and some one hundred and twenty-four journal reviewed papers of various topics in combustion and fluid mechanics. 

 

To view Professor Chen’s CV, please visit the Combustion Modeling Lab website.


Research Description:

Computational modeling of reactive systems, turbulent flows, combustion chemical kinetics.

Chris Dames

Howard Penn Brown Chair in Mechanical Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Howard Penn Brown Chair in Mechanical Engineering

6107 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
cdames@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-2582

For more information see: Nano/Energy Lab
Current Classes Taught

Chris Dames received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. His B.S. and M.S. are from UC Berkeley (1998, 2001). He was a faculty member at UC Riverside from 2006-2011 before joining UC Berkeley in 2011, and he has also worked as a research engineer for Solo Energy Corp. (1998-1999). His research interests emphasize fundamental studies of heat transfer and energy conversion at the nanoscale, using both theoretical and experimental methods. Some topics of current interest include graphene, nanocrystalline materials, mean free path distributions, thermoelectrics, biological systems, and highly anisotropic and nonlinear transport including thermal rectification. His research has been recognized with a DARPA Young Faculty Award (2009) and NSF CAREER award (2011).


Research Description:

Heat transfer and energy conversion at the micro and nano scale. Theoretical and experimental methods. Nanostructured thermoelectric materials. Thermal rectification. Graphene. Nonlinear, anisotropic, and asymmetric heat transfer.

 

Key Publications:

For a list of Professor Dames’ publications, please visit the Nano/Energy Lab website.

Michael Frenklach

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6105B Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
frenklach@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-1676

For more information see: Combustion Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Chemical kinetics; Computer modeling; Combustion chemistry; Pollutant formation (NOx, soot); Shock tube; Chemical vapor deposition of diamond films; Homogeneous nucleation of silicon, silicon carbide, and diamond powders; Interstellar dust formation.

 

Key Publications:

For a list of Professor Frenklach’s publications, please visit the Combustion Laboratory website.

Michael Gollner

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Deb Faculty Fellow

6135 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
mgollner@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3371

For more information see: Berkeley Fire Research Lab

Dr. Michael Gollner received his B.S. (2008), M.S. (2010) and Ph.D. (2012) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. He was a faculty member in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park from 2012-2019. He is broadly interested in fire science problems, utilizing experiments and combustion and fluid dynamics theory to solve problems related to fire spread, material flammability, and smoke transport. Much of his work is focused on applications to wildfires, including their spread through vegetation, ignition of structures in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), transport of embers, fire whirls, and emissions from wildfire smoke.

 

Dr. Gollner is active in professional society leadership, serving as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF), Chair of the Research Advisory Board of the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Fire Protection Research Foundation, and as a member of the Management Committee of the International Association for Fire Safety Science. He also serves as Associate Editor for the journal Fire Technology and serves on the boards of the Fire Safety Journal and the International Journal of Wildland Fire. He is a principal member of the NFPA Technical Committees on Spaceports and Wildland and Rural Fire Protection. He is also a recipient of the NSF CAREER award, Proulx Early Career Award in Fire Safety Science, and the Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal.

 

To view Dr. Gollner’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Combustion, Fire Dynamics, Wildland Fire, Fluid Mechanics

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Dr. Gollner’s publications, please click here.

Kosa Goucher-Lambert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6179 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kosa@berkeley.edu
(510) 664-5376

For more information see: Current Classes Taught
Co-Design Lab

Kosa Goucher-Lambert is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Affiliate Faculty member in the Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation and the Berkeley Institute of Design. Kosa received his B.A. (2011) in Physics from Occidental College, and his M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2017) in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. His primary research interests focus on understanding decision-making processes in engineering design using a combination of mathematical analyses, computational modeling, human cognitive studies, and neuroimaging approaches. Kosa was a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2014 ASME IDETC Design Theory and Methodology Best Paper Award, 2015, 2017, and 2019 International Conference on Engineering Design Reviewers Favorite Award, and 2019 Excellence in Design Science Award. Kosa primarily teaches courses on integrated product development, with an emphasis on complex socio-technical challenges.


Research Description:

Design theory, methodology, and automation: decision-making applied to engineering teams and individuals; ideation and creativity; analogical reasoning in design; preference modeling and design attribute optimization; design cognition; neuroimaging methods applied to design; sustainable design; new product development; crowdsourcing and collaboration.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Goucher-Lambert’s publications, please click here.

Costas Grigoropoulos

A. Martin Berlin Chair in Mechanical Engineering

A. Martin Berlin Chair in Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6129 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
cgrigoro@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2525

For more information see: Laser Thermal Lab
Current Classes Taught

Costas P. Grigoropoulos received his Diploma Degrees in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (1978), and in Mechanical Engineering (1980) from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. He holds a M.Sc. degree (1983), and a Ph.D. (1986), both in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. He joined the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley as an Assistant Professor in 1990, after serving as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington from 1986-1990. He was promoted to Associate Professor in July 1993 and to Professor in Mechanical Engineering in July 1997. He has conducted research at the Xerox Mechanical Engineering Sciences Laboratory, the IBM Almaden Research Center and the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, FORTH, Greece. He is Faculty Staff Scientist with the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.


Research Description:

Laser processing of materials, ultrafast laser micro/nanomachining, nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing, fabrication of flexible electronics, laser crystal growth for thin film transistors, advanced energy applications, microscale fuel cells, hydrogen storage, heat transfer, electronics cooling, microfluidics, laser interactions with biological materials.

 

Key Publications:

Professor Grigoropoulos has published 227 research articles in archival Journals, 11 Chapters in technical review books and 9 U.S. patents. He has also published the books Transport in Laser Microfabrication, Cambridge University Press (2009) and Hierarchical Nanostructures for Energy Devices, RSC Publishing (2014).

 

To view a list of Professor Grigoropoulos’ publications, please visit the Laser Thermal Lab website.

Grace X. Gu

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6177 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
ggu@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-4996

For more information see: Gu Research Group
Current Classes Taught

Education:
PhD Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2018
MS Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2014
BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2012


Research Description:

Research interests: Composites, additive manufacturing, fracture mechanics, topology optimization, machine learning, finite element analysis, and bioinspired materials.

 

Key Publications:

GX Gu and MJ Buehler. Tunable mechanical properties through texture control of polycrystalline additively manufactured materials using adjoint-based gradient optimization. Acta Mechanica, 2018, Accepted

 

GX Gu, CT Chen, and MJ Buehler. De novo composite design based on machine learning algorithm. Extreme Mechanics Letters, 18:19-28, 2018

 

GX Gu, M Takaffoli, and MJ Buehler. Hierarchically enhanced impact resistance of bioinspired composites. Advanced Materials, 29 (28), 2017

 

GX Gu, S Wettermark, and MJ Buehler. Algorithm driven design of fracture resistant composite materials realized through additive manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing, 17:47-54, 2017

 

GX Gu, F Libonati, S Wettermark, and MJ. Buehler. Printing nature: Unraveling the role of nacre’s mineral bridges. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 76:135-144, 2017

 

To view a complete list of Professor Gu’s publications, please visit the Gu Research Group website.

Roberto Horowitz

James Fife Endowed Chair

Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering
James Fife Endowed Chair
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6143 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
horowitz@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 643-7013

For more information see: Horowitz Home Page
Current Classes Taught

Roberto Horowitz is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley and holds the James Fife Endowed Chair in the College of Engineering.   He received a B.S. degree with highest honors in 1978 and a Ph.D. degree in 1983 in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and became a faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Department in 1982. Dr. Horowitz teaches and conducts research in the areas of adaptive, learning, nonlinear and optimal control, with applications to Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS), computer disk file systems, robotics, mechatronics and Intelligent Vehicle and Highway Systems (IVHS). He is currently the Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Department is a former co-director of the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH) research center at U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Horowitz is a member of IEEE and ASME and the recipient of the 2010 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division (DSCD) Henry M. Paynter Outstanding Investigator Award.

 

To view Professor Horowitz’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Adaptive, learning and nonlinear control, control of robot manipulators, computer mechatronics systems, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), intelligent vehicle and highways systems (IVHS)

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Horowitz’s publications, click here.

Homayoon Kazerooni

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6147 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kazerooni@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2964

For more information see: Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Dr. Kazerooni is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as the director of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory. With more than 30 years of mechanical engineering experience and a doctorate degree from MIT, he is a leading expert in robotics, control sciences, exoskeletons, human-machine systems and augmentation, bioengineering, mechatronics design, intelligent assist devices, and power and propulsion.  Prior to his more well-known research on lower extremity exoskeletons, Dr. Kazerooni led his team at Berkeley to successfully develop robotics systems that enhanced human upper extremity strength.  The results of this work led to a new class of intelligent assist devices that are currently used by manual laborers in distribution centers and factories all over the world. These technologies are currently marketed worldwide by leading material handling corporations.

 

Dr. Kazerooni’s later work focuses on the control of human-machine systems specific to lower human extremities. After developing BLEEX, ExoHiker, and ExoClimber–three super-light, load-carrying exoskeletons–his team at Berkeley created HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier). It is the first energetically-autonomous, orthotic, lower extremity exoskeleton that allows its user to carry 200-pound weights in various terrains for an extended period, without becoming physically overwhelmed.  The technology was licensed to Lockheed Martin and now is used for a variety of military applications. Dr. Kazerooni has also developed lower-extremity technology to aid persons who have experienced a stroke, spinal cord injuries, or health conditions that obligate them to use a wheelchair.  His medical exoskeleton, Ekso, has successfully allowed those who have been paralyzed to walk, stand, and speak face to face with peers in an upright position.

 

In addition to his teaching work and research experience in a academia, Dr. Kazerooni is also an entrepreneur. In 2005, he founded Ekso Bionics (www.eksobionics.com), which went on to become a publicly-owned company in 2014 and now supplies medical exoskeleton (Ekso) to a great number of rehabilitation centers worldwide.  He is the founder and chairperson of U.S. Bionics, a VC, industry, and government funded company that provides accessible, affordable exoskeletons for the industrial, medical, and military markets (www.usbionics.com).

 

Dr. Kazerooni has won numerous awards including Discover Magazine’s Technological Innovation Award, the McKnight-Land Grant Professorship, and has been a recipient of the outstanding ASME Investigator Award. His research was recognized as the most innovative technology of the year in New York Times Magazine. He has served in a variety of leadership roles in the mechanical engineering community and is notably the editor of two journals: ASME Journal of Dynamics Systems and Control and IEEE Transaction on Mechatronics. A recognized authority on robotics, Dr. Kazerooni has published more than 200 articles to date, delivered over 130 plenary lectures internationally, and is the inventors of numerous patents.


Research Description:

Bioengineering, robotics, control systems, mechatronics, design, automated manufacturing and human-machine systems

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Kazerooni’s publications, please visit the Berkeley Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory’s website.

Tony M. Keaveny

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering

5124 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
tonykeaveny@berkeley.edu
(510) 390-1626

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Tony Keaveny is a Professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and the director of the Berkeley Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory. Dr. Keaveny received his B.E. (1984) degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland, and his M.S. (1988) and Ph.D. (1991) degrees, also in Mechanical Engineering, from Cornell University. He spent one year (1990-1991) as a Maurice Mueller Post-Doctoral Fellow in Orthopaedic Biomechanics in the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, after which he joined the permanent staff there as a Senior Research Associate (1991- 1993). At the same time, Dr. Keaveny was appointed an Instructor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and joined the faculty of the Harvard/M.I.T. Health Sciences and Technology Program. He left Boston and joined the Berkeley faculty in 1993, at which time he established the Berkeley Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory.

 

Dr. Keaveny has served as Principal Investigator on an NIH FIRST Award and several NIH R01 and R21 grants, a Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Research Grant, an NSF CAREER Award, and numerous industrial grants. In 1996, he received the YC Fung Young Investigator Award from the Bioengineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was the 2010 winner of the Van C. Mow Medal. As director of the Berkeley OBL, Dr. Keaveny directs and supervises all research in the laboratory, and acts as the faculty research mentor for all students.


Research Description:

Biomechanics: mechanical behavior of bone, finite element modeling and experimentation, design of bone-implant systems, tissue engineering

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Keaveny’s publications, please click here.

Kyriakos Komvopoulos

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5143 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
kyriakos@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-2563

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Professor Komvopoulos has been in the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) since 1989. Before joining UCB, he was in the faculty of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1986-1989). Professor Komvopoulos is internationally known for pioneering research in surface nanosciences and nanoengineering, with important implications in several emerging technologies including communications, microelectronics, information storage, and biotechnology. He is the founder and director of the Surface Mechanics and Tribology Laboratory (1989), which in 2008 was split into two laboratories, the Surface Sciences and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) and the Computational Surface Mechanics Laboratory (CSML), to better accommodate his research programs in different interdisciplinary fields. Professor Komvopoulos holds the positions of Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UCB, Principal Investigator at the Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), and Faculty Scientist, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

 

The research of Professor Komvopoulos is at the interfaces of mechanical and electrical engineering, materials sciences, surface physical chemistry, bioengineering, and biology. His work is characterized by a multidisciplinary nature and the combination of analytical and experimental techniques used to analyze complex surface and interface phenomena. His research is based on the integration of fundamentals from mechanics, materials, surface chemistry, and biology, and spans a broad range of scales, from the mesoscopic down to the atomic and molecular levels.

 

Early research accomplishments of Professor Komvopoulos include contact deformation at submicron scales, new friction theories of surfaces interacting in the presence of physicochemically adsorbed monolayers, surface plasticity and fracture of contacting bodies, acoustic emission in surface sliding and machining, synthesis and characterization of ultrathin diamondlike and amorphous carbon films, adhesion forces in miniaturized electromechanical systems, and rheological behavior of boundary films.

 

In the past two decades, Professor Komvopoulos broadened his research activities, branching into the exploration of various surface microprobe techniques for atomic and molecular level surface analysis, synthesis of self-assembled organic monolayers for reducing adhesion between silicon microdevices, invention of plasma-assisted surface treatments for biopolymers (used in total joint replacements, catheters for minimally invasive treatment of diseased arteries, and cell platforms), deposition of ultrathin (a few atomic layers) amorphous carbon films by sputtering and filtered cathodic vacuum arc for ultrahigh-density magnetic recording and heat-assisted magnetic recording, phase transformations and nanomechanical properties of shape-memory alloys (both in thin-film and bulk form) for retina disks and artery stents, a surface-specific spectroscopy technique (infrared-visible sum frequency generation (SFG) 2 vibrational spectroscopy) for in-situ studies of entropically driven molecular rearrangement at various biopolymer surfaces due to in-plane and out-of-plane stretching and aging effects. His most recent work includes plasma-assisted polymer surface functionalization for controlling adhesion and growth of cells, protein secretion due to mechanotransduction in articular cartilage, cell mechanics, patterned media for single-cell growth, and cell infiltration into fibrous scaffolds synthesized by electrospinning, new electrode materials for Lithium-ion batteries, flexible and stretchable bioelectronics, skin mechanics, and transdermal drug delivery by microneedle arrays, mechanics of biological surfaces, and synthesis of scaffolds with special cues for enhanced biofunctionality.

 

Professor Komvopoulos research is documented in 245 papers published in peer-reviewed archival journals, 70 papers in refereed conference proceedings, 19 papers in symposium proceedings, 65 technical reports, and 10 US patents. He has also authored an undergraduatelevel textbook (Mechanical Testing of Engineering Materials) and co-authored two monographs (Long Term Durability of Structural Materials: Durability 2000 and 1999 Interface Tribology Towards 100 Gbit/in2 ). He has given 217 scholarly presentations at international conferences, academic institutions, national laboratories, and various industries, supervised the research and dissertations of 55 graduate students (31 PhD and 24 MS) and 15 post-doctoral students, visiting faculty, and industry fellows, and consulted for a wide range of industries and law firms on various litigation matters. Professor Komvopoulos is Fellow of ASME, Fellow of STLE, and recipient of several awards, including NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989-1996), IBM Faculty Development Award (1990-1992), Berkeley Engineering Fund Award (1989-1990), ASME B. L. Newkirk Award (1988), and NSF Engineering Initiation Award (1987).

 

At UCB, Professor Komvopoulos teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Plasticity, Fracture, Fatigue, and Tribology, actively participates in the Nanosciences and Nanoengineering Graduate Program, and devotes significant time to administration duties at the Department, College, and University system-wide levels. His most recent system-wide committee service includes UC Faculty Welfare, Assembly Representative, Divisional Council, Educational Technology, Courses of Instruction, Graduate Study, and Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation.


Research Description:

Surface nanoengineering methods, nano-/micro-mechanics and tribology, contact and fracture mechanics, mechanical behavior of bulk materials, deposition, microanalysis, and characterization of single and multi-layer thin films (RF sputtering, ion beam, and filtered cathodic vacuum arc), shape-memory alloys, reliability of nano-/micro-electromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS), surface chemistry and nanoscale viscoelastic properties of (bio)polymers, surface treatments for total joint arthroplasty and catheters, surface force microscopy, particle contamination in semiconductor materials, damage of alternating phase-shift optical masks, laser-assisted surface nanomodification and nanostructuring, cell mechanics, plasma-assisted surface functionalization for controlling cell adhesion and proliferation, finite element analysis of thermomechanical surface contact interactions.

 

To learn more about Professor Komvopoulos’ research, please click here.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Komvopoulos’ publications, please click here.

Dennis K. Lieu

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5128 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
dlieu@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-4014

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

D.Eng Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 1982
Major Field – Dynamics and Control, Minor Fields- Mechanical Design, Business Administration
Thesis- “Dynamics of the Turning Snow-Ski”
Advisor- Prof. C.D. Mote, Jr.

 

MS Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, 1978
Thesis- “Design of an Electronic Ski-Binding with Biofeedback
1977 University of California Regents Fellowship

 

BS Mechanical Engineering (with honors), University of California at Berkeley, 1977

 

Professor Dennis K. Lieu was born in San Francisco in 1957. He is a 1974 graduate of Lowell High School.  He pursued his higher education at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received his BSME in 1977, MSME in 1978, and D.Eng. in mechanical engineering in 1982. His major field of study was dynamics and control. His graduate work, under the direction of Prof. C.D. Mote, Jr., involved the study skier/ski mechanics and ski binding function.

 

After graduate studies, Dr. Lieu worked as an advisory engineer in the disk file industry with IBM San Jose, where he directed the specification, design, and development of mechanisms and components in the head-disk-assemblies (HDA) of disk files. He directed the design and control of high performance DC brushless motors and control of spindle and structural vibration in the IBM 3390 disk file. In 1988, Dr. Lieu joined the Mechanical Engineering faculty at UC Berkeley. His interests include applied research in the mechanics of high speed electro-mechanical devices, and the mechanics of magnetically, electro-magnetically, and eddy current generated acoustic noise and vibration. He currently supervises approximately 6 graduate students in the Electro-mechanical Design Laboratory in 2163 Etcheverry Hall. At the University, Prof. Lieu teaches courses in Engineering Graphics and Design of Electro-mechanical Devices. He also leads a special seminar class in the design of protective equipment for sports.

 

Prof. Lieu holds a 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo, and is a martial arts instructor at UC Berkeley. His interest in biomechanics and sport equipment design has led to many seminars and papers on these topics. Prof. Lieu was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1989, the Pi Tau Sigma Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1990, and the 1992 Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award, which is the highest honor for teaching excellence on the U.C. Berkeley campus. Prof. Lieu is a member of Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Beta Kappa. His professional affiliations include ASEE and ASME.


Research Description:

Acoustics, actuators, electromechanical devices, magnetics, rolling elements, spindle motors, structural mechanics.

 

Liwei Lin

James Marshall Wells Academic Chair in Mechanical Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
James Marshall Wells Academic Chair
Co-Director, Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center

5135 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
lwlin@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-5495

For more information see: Lin Lab
Lin Home Page
Current Classes Taught

2006 – 2009  Vice Chair – Graduate Study, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

2004  Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

2001  Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

1999  Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley

1996  Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Michigan

1994  Associate Professor, Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University

1993  Senior Research Scientist, BEI Electronics Inc.

1993  PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley

1991  MS, Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley

1986  BS, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University


Research Description:

MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems); NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical Systems); Nanotechnology; design and manufacturing of microsensors and microactuators; development of micromachining processes by silicon surface/bulk micromachining; micromolding process; mechanical issues in MEMS including heat transfer, solid/fluid mechanics, and dynamics.

 

Key Publications:

For a list of Professor Lin’s publications, please click here.

Fai Ma

Professor of Applied Mechanics

6127 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
fma@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-6527

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

To view Professor Ma’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Dynamical Systems with Inherent Uncertainties, Vibration, Damping and Hysteresis

 

To learn more about Professor Ma’s research, please click here.

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Ma’s publications, please click here.

Simo Mäkiharju

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6119 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
makiharju@berkeley.edu

For more information see: FLOW Lab
Current Classes Taught

Simo A. Mäkiharju is an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley.  Prof. Mäkiharju’s undergraduate studies were in Energy Technology at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. In 2005 he received his Mechanical Engineering M.Sc. from the Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Michigan. His graduate research focused on the reduction of hydrodynamic drag by gas injection and the development of a time-resolved x-ray densitometry imaging system for the study of multiphase flows. He continued at the University of Michigan as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2012-2014) and as an Assistant Research Scientist (2014-2015) investigating single- and multiphase flow mixing in channel flows while continuing the development of x-ray based 2D and 3D flow measurement techniques. Starting as an Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley in January of 2016, he is continuing to pursue his research interest in advancing the physical understanding of high-Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows through experimental research, primarily through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques.


Research Description:

One of the central objectives of Professor Mäkiharju’s research is to advance the physical understanding of high Reynolds number single- and multiphase flows primarily through experimental research, and through the development and use of advanced experimental techniques. Multiphase flows are encountered in almost every aspect of modern life, including offshore applications, biological flows, energy production, chemical processing, and naval hydrodynamics. Specific topics Professor Mäkiharju has worked on include the reduction drag on marine vehicles, mitigation of damage and noise caused by cavitation in naval and industrial applications, and efficient handling of single- and multiphase flows in energy production applications.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Mäkiharju’s publications, please click here.

Philip S. Marcus

Tien-Modak Chancellor’s Chair in Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Tien-Modak Chancellor’s Chair in Engineering

6121 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
pmarcus@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-5942

For more information see: Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Algorithms, atmospheric flows, convection, fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, ocean flows, numerical analysis, turbulence.

 

Key Publications:

2015

“High S/N Keck and Gemini AO imaging of Uranus during 2012–2014: New cloud patterns, increasing activity, and improved wind measurements”, LA Sromovsky, I de Pater, PM Fry, HB Hammel, P Marcus, June 2015, Icarus, vol. 258 pp. 192–223, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.05.029.

 

“Dramatic Change in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot”, AA Simon, MH Wong, JH Rogers, GS Orton, I de Pater, X Asay-Davis, RW Carlson, PS Marcus, March 2015, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, vol. 46 pp. 1010. — PDF

 

To view a complete list of Professor Marcus’ publications from previous years, please visit the Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory website.

Sara McMains

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5145 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
mcmains@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 852-9359

For more information see: McMains Home Page
Current Classes Taught

Dr. McMains is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include Geometric DFM (Design for Manufacturing) feedback, geometric solid modeling, CAD/CAM, GPU algorithms, computer aided process planning, layered manufacturing, computer graphics, visualization, virtual prototyping, and virtual reality. Her current research focuses on new techniques for accessibility analysis and collision detection, with applications in haptic design environments, design for manufacturing for injection molding, design for cleanability, layered manufacturing, and machining.

 

McMains received her A.B. from Harvard University in Computer Science, and her M.S. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Computer Science with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. She is the recipient of Best Paper Awards from Usenix (1995) and ASME DETC (2000), a Best Poster and a Best Paper Award from the ACM Solid and Physical Modeling Symposium (2007, 2008 — 2nd place), and the NSF CAREER Award (2005).


Research Description:

Geometric and solid modeling, computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, layered manufacturing, computer graphics and visualization, virtual prototyping, virtual reality.

 

Mohammad R. K. Mofrad

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering

208A Stanley Hall #1762
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1762
mofrad@berkeley.edu
(510) 643-8165

For more information see: Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory
Current Classes Taught

Education

1991  B.A.Sc., Sharif University of Technology

1994  M.A.Sc., University of Waterloo

1999  Ph.D., University of Toronto

 

Professional Experience

1999 – 2000  Post-Doc, Computer Science Department, University of Toronto

2000 – 2002  Post-Doc, MIT and Harvard Medical School/Mass. General Hospital

2002 – 2004  Principal Research Scientist, Biological and Mechanical Engineering, MIT

2005 – 2010  Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley

2010 – 2013  Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley

2011               Visiting Professor, Department of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

2012 – 2013  Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

2012 – Present  Faculty Scientist, Molecular Biophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

2012 – 2014  Faculty Director, UC Berkeley Master of Bioengineering (M.Eng) Program

2013 – Present  Professor, Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

2014 – 2015  Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley-UCSF Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) Program


Research Description:

Multiscale Biomechanics of Cardiovascular Disease and Brain Injury; Molecular and Cellular Mechanobiology; Mechanics of Integrin-Mediated Focal Adhesions; Mechanics of the Nuclear Pore and Nucleocytoplasmic Transport

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Mofrad’s publications, please visit the Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory website and PubMed.

Stephen Morris

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6115 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
morris@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-5545

For more information see: Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Continuum mechanics, especially problems involving the interaction of bulk and surface continua: micromechanics of pressure-induced solid-solid phase changes (e.g. the olivine-spinel transformation); interfacial phenomena (e.g. evaporating thin films); electroporation of cell membranes.

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Morris’ publications, please click here.

Mark Mueller

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5136 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
mwm@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3270

For more information see: HiPeR Lab
Current Classes Taught

Mark Mueller received a B.Eng. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2008. With a scholarship from the Swiss Federation, he continued to his M.Sc. and Dr. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at the ETH Zurich, in 2011 and 2015, respectively. He joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at UC Berkeley in August 2016.


Research Description:

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, dynamics and control; motion planning and coordination; state estimation and localization.

 

Key Publications:

For a list of Professor Mueller’s publications, please click here.

Grace O’Connell

Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professorship

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Don M. Cunningham Endowed Professor

5122 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
g.oconnell@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3739

For more information see: O'Connell Lab
Current Classes Taught

Education
2001 – 2004 B.S. Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
2004 – 2009 Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
2009 – 2013 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University


Research Description:

Biomechanics of cartilage and intervertebral disc; tissue engineering; continuum modeling of soft tissues; intervertebral disc function, degeneration, and regeneration

 

Key Publications:

2015

Tan AR, Alegre-Aguaron E, O’Connell GD, VandenBerg CD, Aaron RK, Vunjak-Novakovic G, Bulinski JC, Ateshian GA, Hung CT. Passage-Dependent Relationship between Mesenchymal Stem Cell Mobilization and Chondrogenic Potential. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, In Press

 

2014

O’Connell GD, Newman IB, Carapezza MA. Effect of long-term osmotic loading culture on matrix synthesis from intervertebral disc cells. BioResearch, Oct 1;3(5):242-9, 2014.

 

Ponnurangam S, O’Connell GD, Chernyshova I, Woods K, Somasundaran P, Hung CT. Ceria nanoparticles modulate development and interleukin response of chondrocyte-seeded hydrogel constructs. Tissue Engineering, Part A, Nov; 20(21-22):2908-19, 2014.

 

O’Connell GD, Nims R, Green J, Cigan A, Ateshian GA, Hung CT. Time and dose-dependent effects of chondroitinase ABC on growth of engineered cartilage. eCells and Materials Journal, Vol. 27: 312-320, 2014.

 

To view a complete list of Professor O’Connell’s publications from previous years, please visit the Berkeley Biomechanics Laboratory website.

Oliver O’Reilly

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society

5131 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 4720-1740
oreilly@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-0877

For more information see: Dynamics Lab
Current Classes Taught

Oliver M. O’Reilly is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society at the University of California at Berkeley. 

 

He received his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). Subsequently, he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he studied under Phil Holmes and Frank Moon. After spending two years as a postdoc at the Institut für Mechanik at ETH-Zürich under Jürg Dual, he joined the faculty in Mechanical Engineering at Cal in 1992. During the 2019-2020 Academic Year, he was the Chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate.

 

His interests span the fields of continuum mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. He has a broad range of specializations including directed (or Cosserat) theories of deformable bodies, constrained rigid body dynamics, contact mechanics, linear and nonlinear vibrations and linear and nonlinear dynamics of deformable bodies. He has applied these interests to a range of applications including soft robots, MEMS resonators, brake squeal, the dynamics of toys, motorcycle navigation, axially moving media, artificial and natural satellites, spinal kinematics and vehicle collision dynamics. 

 

O’Reilly has coauthored over 100 archival journal articles, written three textbooks, coauthored a monograph, and is a co-inventor on two patents. He has also received multiple teaching awards including U.C. Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999, the Pi-Tau-Sigma Professor of the Year Award in 2003 and the Tau-Beta-Pi Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award in 2013.

 

Professor O’Reilly currently serves as a contributing editor for the journal Nonlinear Dynamics and is on the editorial boards of the following journals: Nonlinearity, International Journal of Nonlinear Mechanics, Regular and Chaotic Dynamics, and Nonlinear Dynamics and Mobile Robots.

 

To view Professor O’Reilly’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Dynamics, Vibrations, Continuum Mechanics

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor O’Reilly’s publications, please visit the Dynamics Lab website.

Panayiotis Papadopoulos

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

6131 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
panos@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-3358

For more information see: Computational Solid Mechanics Lab
Current Classes Taught

RELATED EXPERIENCE

7/1/04 – present : Professor, University of California, Berkeley
7/1/98 – 6/30/04 : Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley
7/1/92 – 6/30/98 : Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley
1/1/92 – 6/30/92 : Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley
8/1/91 – 12/31/91 : University Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley
1/1/88 – 8/31/91 : Graduate Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley
8/1/87 – 5/31/90 : Graduate Student Instructor, University of California, Berkeley

 

UNIVERSITY DEGREES

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, December 1991
M.S. Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, May 1987
Dipl. Civil Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece, July 1986


Research Description:

Computational mechanics, solid mechanics, biomechanics, applied mathematics

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Professor Papadopoulos’ publications, please visit the Computational Solid Mechanics Lab website.

Kameshwar Poolla

Cadence Distinguished Professorship in the College of Engineering

Cadence Design Systems Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering

5141 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
poolla@me.berkeley.edu
(510) 642-1150

For more information see: Berkeley Center for Control and Identification
Current Classes Taught

Research Description:

Theory: Modeling & System Identification, Robust Control, Optimization

 

Applications: Wireless Sensor Networks, Green Buildings, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Medical Imaging

 

Key Publications:

To view a list of Professor Poolla’s publications, please visit the Berkeley Center for Control & Identification website.

Lisa Pruitt

Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Lawrence Talbot Chair in Engineering

5134 Etcheverry Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
lpruitt@berkeley.edu

For more information see: Medical Polymer Group
Current Classes Taught

To view Professor Pruitt’s CV, please click here.


Research Description:

Research is focused on structure-property relationships in orthopedic tissues, biomaterials and medical polymers. Current projects include the assessment of fatigue fracture mechanisms and tribological performance of orthopedic biomaterials, as well as characterization of orthopedic tissues and associated devices. Surface modifications using plasma chemistry are used to optimize polymers for medical applications. Attention is focused on wear, fatigue and multiaxial loading. Retrievals of orthopedic implants are characterized to model in vivo degradation and physiological loading. Biomechanical characterization of structural tissues is performed to assess clinical treatments and to develop constitutive relationships. Laboratory techniques for structural characterization include SEM, TEM, FEM, SAXS, USAXS, XPS, DSC, GPC, FTIR, AFM, confocal microscopy, wear testing, fatigue testing, fracture mechanics analysis, and nanoindentation. Research has been supported by NIH, NSF, ONR, DARPA, OREF and industry. Pedagogical experience includes curriculum development in mechanical engineering and bioengineering. Teaching includes freshman seminars; undergraduate courses on Mechanical Behavior and Processing of Materials, Structural Aspects of Biomaterials, and Principles of Bioengineering; graduate courses on Fracture Mechanics, Mechanical Behavior of Materials, and Polymer Engineering.

 

Key Publications:

2014

F. Ansari, C. Major, T. R. Norris, S. B. Gunther, M. Ries, and L. Pruitt. “Unscrewing instability of modular reverse shoulder prosthesis increases propensity for in vivo fracture: a report of two cases.” Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery/American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons…[et al.] 23, no. 2 (2014): e40-5.

 

E.W. Patten, D. Van Citters, M. D. Ries, and L. Pruitt. “Quantifying cross-shear under translation, rolling, and rotation, and its effect on UHMWPE wear.” Wear 313, no. 1 (2014): 125-134.

 

To view a complete list of Professor Pruitt’s publications from previous years, please click here.